


Five Times Rhaenys Escaped the Sack of King's Landing

by Sookiestark



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: 5 Times, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-03
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-09-28 00:00:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10057874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sookiestark/pseuds/Sookiestark
Summary: Five ways Rhaenys escaped the Sack of King's Landing





	1. Chapter 1

Elia is tired and angry but she is still a Martell. She understands what is at stake. Unbent. Her beautiful strong husband has fallen in love with another woman and it has driven him to madness, nonsense and fantasy. She was told by her mother Targaryens were prone to madness, but still she wanted her silver prince, so handsome, so knightly, so sad. What a pair they made, her, all dark and golden smiles and him, all silver and pale sorrow. He chose her and she was the envy of the Seven Kingdoms. Damn the Seven Kingdoms! She would trade it all to go back before being a hostage to the Mad King and his delusions.

The night before Rhaegar left for the Trident, he came to her with tears and apologies. “When I come back things will change..” he said, whispered in her hair. She looked into his purple eyes and told him to go and win this war for his children, Rhaenys, Aegon, and the unborn Visenya. History might snicker or sneer at this arrangement but Elia is Dornish. This baby is her children’s sister and her place is here with them. They are family. She whispered back to him that they would send for Lyanna, that she not face birth alone in a tower. He kissed her in the dark and spoke of his dreams of better tomorrows, when he is King. 

None of that matters now. What matters is that her beautiful daughter get free from this forsaken shit hole. Lewyn promised her that there are people in the castle that would help her. People who could get the her and her children out if the worst happened. He has introduced her to some of them. 

Tywin Lannister is at the gates of King’s Landing and Rhaegar is dead. She is sure Lewyn is as well. She has heard many of the Kingsguard is dead. She has been sewing jewels into the plainest blue dress she could fine for Rhaenys. She will still look highborn, but she might not look Targaryen. She is glad her daughter has dark hair and eyes. It will make it easier to smuggle her out of King’s Landing. Finally, Martell looks paid off. Her daughter can blend where poor Aegon is like silver in a sea of coppers. He catches the eye. Elia wishes she had someone to consult with right now. When does she cut Aegon’s silver curls? Does looking like a Targaryen a boon or a curse right now? What will the Usurper do to her children? Surely, he will ransom them. After all, Rhaegar is dead now and he can have his Stark girl back with a baby in her belly.

It was not her children’s doing. These are not animals. They are lords of the realm, unhappy with the King and the Prince, but Aegon and Rhaenys are children. Surely, they will have safety. 

She is afraid to cut their hair if King Aerys calls for them and sees what she has done, he might think she is fleeing and the least that will happen is she will burn, as a traitor. She does not think he will kill the children, even though he already is crowing about Viserys to be named heir… Dragonstone is far, and between them, there are several armies. Things can change. Unbowed.

She puts the knife down. There is still time. She pours herself a glass a wine and thinks. She hears the screams from below, somewhere and she goes to the cradle and wraps Aegon in a blanket. 

She looks at Rhaenys and she will not cry. Her daughter is a dragon and must not be afraid. “Come here Rhaenys. What did Mother tell you? We are going on a journey.” She takes off her clothes quickly, leaving the red and black for a simple blue, doing the same to her daughter. She speaks lightly and softly.

“We are going to Dorne, to see you Uncle Doran and your cousins. You will be safe. Tell no one your name until we are in Dorne.” 

The girl Runi is waiting. Lewyn had introduced them before he left, once in darkness and shadows. “When you must leave the girl will come, her father is a merchant and has a ship. They will bring you to your brother.” 

They had planned in secret, in whispers. It was never supposed to be like this. Elia hesitates. She does not know how to trust this strange girl, to trust her with the lives of her children. 

“We must hurry my queen. They come quickly. There is a boat in the harbor. We must go.” Runi looks afraid but she is patient with the queen.

“Balerion! I must bring Baleron.” The little girl starts to cry. The screams have gotten louder from the streets and the floors below them. She can hear the soldiers of the King fighting the Lannister men, trying to keep the royal family safe.

“Hush Rhaenys. Go with Runi. Run. I will go out the front. If we separate, there is a chance.” Elia speaks to her daughter, trying to burn every feature into her mind. 

She looks at her daughter as she cuts the curls away from her head in five sharp cutting swipes. In her hand she lets the long black curls drop. “She can’t look too pretty,” she hears the voice that sounds like hers speak. 

She hears the screams of women being raped and soldiers being killed. “I will see you soon, baby. Go with Runi.” 

She looks at the girl. “Keep her safe. She is your Princess. If I am not there in a half an hour, leave without me.”  
She opens the secret door to the darkened passage and the girl who is no more than thirteen, picks up Rhaenys, who is so much heavier because of the gold in her dress.

Runi is strong and smart. She smiles at Elia and walks into the dark passage, speaking to the princess. “We must be quiet as your cat and as quick. Let us see how fast we can go.” 

Elia shuts the secret door and hears it lock in place. She looks around afraid, but unable to run. She knows if she goes out the main entrance the Lannister soldiers will capture her. If she goes down the secret passage, she risks them finding Rhaenys, She hopes there will be mercy, but she is still a Martell. Unbroken.


	2. Chapter 2

Septa Moelle teaches Elia and Rhaenys the Way of the Seven. Princess Rhaenys is a very bright child and has started learning her letters and even reading small words. There is a small sept in Maegor’s Holdfast, where they go to hear the Faith of the Seven and to pray. 

Princess Elia is not in mood to pray. She only weeps, for her husband and her uncle. She did not seem to mind if the Septa takes Rhaenys to pray for her father and uncle. Septa walks with the Princess, her little hand in her larger one. 

When Moelle was younger, she wished to have a husband and children. She would hold her little brothers and sisters and pray that the Mother find her a husband and bring her through birth safely. She had dreams of having seven children, and she even had names picked out. Those days were long past. She did not regret her decisions, though sometimes when she held the Princess Rhaenys’s hand, she would feel the pull of motherhood. 

Septa is worried. The King is deciding on whether to let Tywin Lannister’s army in to help him against the rebels. Moelle would not trust a Lannister, but then as a Septa, no one is asking her opinion. She knows what happens when invading armies attack. She has seen the women raped, the walls tore down, babies thrown down wells. 

Rhaneys and her walk into the small sept. They bow in front of the statue of the Maiden and begin to light a candle. “My father is dead.” The little girl says. Septa Moelle kneels next to her  
“I had heard that, your grace. I am sorry that your father has left you. We will pray for him. When I was a girl, only a little older than you, my father also died. As did my uncles, my mother, and all my family.”

Rhaenys nods, solemnly. The Septa hears the bells tolling. The King must have let the Lannister troops in. Stupid fool, she thinks. The bells tolling means to hide and lock your doors. It means that death and rape have come to the poor people of King’s Landing. Septa will not tell the girl this. 

“Princess.. We must play a game. A game of hide and seek. We are going to hide from soldiers, like little mice. We must be safe and quiet. Let’s play.”

She smiles and takes her hand. Septa Moelle knows this sept like the back of her hand. It has been hers to clean, to polish, to pray, to tend. She leads the Princess to the statue of the Stranger. Behind it is a secret passage that leads to the Sept of Baelor. She is sure the High Sparrow has barred the doors to keep the faithful safe. She will take the Princess and they will claim sanctuary. They will be safe. If there is one place that is safe, it is the Sept of Baelor….

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted this Septa to be a survivor of the Reyne-Tarbeck rebellion.. but if you blink you will miss it...


	3. Chapter 3

Jaime feels like he is in a dream. He has killed the man he was sworn to protect. In a moment, he feels like he should sit down and wait to see who will be the new King. He has failed in a way and needs to reflect. His father would want him to think. What would Tywin Lannister do? How will he speak to him when he sees what Jaime has done. A knight without honor is just a killer. 

He sinks down onto the Iron Throne to think. Surely, his father will understand. Tywin Lannister, who killed hundreds of innocent women and children in the Reyne-Tarbeck Rebellion, has never cared for the small folk. His father’s sneer comes to his thoughts when he would talk about the weak, the foolish, children, small folk. His father will not care that Jaime saved the city. 

Suddenly, he knows there is danger. He knows what his father is capable of and there is no time to waste, especially since Aerys and Rhaegar are both dead. As Jaime runs, he sees a small boy, in a bright green tunic. He is standing in the hallway, stunned at the faraway screaming in the streets and the general disarray that has begun. The bells of the Sept are tolling. He hears someone scream, “The King is dead!!”  
The boys’ eyes are too big, as are his ears. The boy looks familiar to Jaime. He has seen him around with some Lord. “Boy, what is your name? Wade Wythers?” Jaime leans down to seem less intimidating. It is then Jamie realizes that he has blood on his hands and his sword. “You are a page to Ser Redwyne, right?” 

“Yes, ser. Ser Redwyne went to fight with the Prince.” The boys’ big eyes never move from his feet to Jaime’s bloody sword, but he is respectful and curious. The boy recognizes him and knows he is a Kingsguard, and little more than a hostage to a dead King.  
“Yes, of course. Can you run? I need your help. I need you to follow me and do what I say.”  
The boy nods, serious. He senses and that they are about to rush headlong into danger.. And like any boy, who dreams of knights, is willing.  
Jaime runs, as fast as he can, through halls of the holdfast to the royal apartments to find Princess Elia and her children. When he gets to an alcove, he pushes the entrance, into the secret tunnels. “Come,” he yells to the boy. There is a passageway into Prince Rhaegar’s room directly. He opens the door and sees Princess Rhaenys playing with her cat on the Prince’s bed. She is unaware of the danger and the tolling of the bells.

He can hear the screams from the hallways beneath him and the yard further below. Lannister men have started the sack of King's Landing and are scaling the walls to get in they Keep. “Princess, we must leave quickly.” 

He picks her up. She is a pretty child and asks him, “Ser Jaime, where are we going?”

He thinks to himself that he has no idea. He looks at the boy, who seems breathless and excited at the adventure unfolding in front of him. Jaime can’t stand Wade’s big blue eyes, right now. “Wade, run to the hallway and see if you can hear or see any men, Lannister men or King’s men… Quick..”

Jaime sets the Princess down. She has some blood on her dress from his hands, and he is sorry he did not wipe his hands before he picked her up. “I must think…” he says to himself and her. He opens one of the dead Prince’s chest and grabs a clean tunic and some fresh black pants. He grabs a bag to throw it in, velvet black. There is a bag of coins, gold and silver, not enough, but it is better than nothing. There is some jewelry, a dragon pendant, a sigil ring. He throws that in the bag as well. 

The page runs back in the room. “There are men in red and gold on the floor beneath, in Princess Elia’s room.”

“It is too late. We must away. Quick! Keep up with me. We will get to some boats at the end of this passage. I will need your help getting this armor off, so I don’t drown. Stay close”

 

He picks up Rhaenys and speaks to her softly, “We will go to Dorne, Princess. But first, we must get a boat. Hold tight. We must be quick and quiet.” He looks down at his hands as he wipes them on a sheet. On his right hand is the Lannister ring his father gave him, a lion's head roaring with rubies for eyes. Jaime has no needs of it anymore or the Lannister name. When he leaves the castle with Rhaenys, he will be an outlaw, a fugitive, a traitor to the crown and a disobedient son to his father's wishes. He is leaving all that ring means and goes to set it on the table. However, he finds himself unable to set it on the table and walk away. Instead he throws it in the bag. He will figure this out later. Later, he will have time to think. For now, they will flee and live to fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I enjoyed writing this one so much that I will be writing another story about Jamie, Wade, and Rhaenys and their adventures while traveling...


	4. Chapter 4

Ned has come into the Red Keep to find Jamie on the Iron Throne, sitting. Aerys body has fallen on the stairs and no one has covered the body of the dead king. He has ridden hard and fast to get here. Robert was wounded on the Trident and he has come to liberate King’s Landing in his stead because he and his 500 men could ride fast and hard. 

Aerys only just let Lannister men in the gates, not even an hour has passed.

He looks at Jamie, a boy of 16, with bloody hands, and has many things he would like to say, but instead says, “Where is the Princess and her children? Get up and help me.”

He sent his men into the Red Keep to liberate the Dungeons and find the Royal Family. The trouble started in the Royal apartments. Ned and his men found a small group of Lannister men in Princess Elia’s room. Before Ned could get to the room, blood had been shed. The Northmen had found Prince Aegon’s body with his head bashed in, while Gregor Clegane was raping a dead Elia Martell, whose face was a bloody ruin. Some of the Lannister men were cheering, calling out, “Fuck the Dornish whore.” This was all too much for the Northern men. 

 

When the fight is finished, ten Lannister men are dead, including Gregor Clegane and eight of Stark’s men. Ned calls out to his men, “Find the Princess! Find Princess Rhaenys!” He rushed the men through room after room, calling for the Princess but she was clever and would not come out.  
They find her hiding under her father’s bed, quiet as a mouse. She fought like a wild animal and her face was dirty from the dust under the bed. She must have heard her mother screaming. Rhaenys had run and hid.

With the dirt on her nose and her messy black curls with spiderwebs in them, she reminded him of his sister Lyanna when she was young. He demands Jamie stand with him and protect the Princess. Jamie doesn’t have to be asked. Immediately, when the girl emerges, he transforms into a Knight, willing to die for the King’s granddaughter. Ned wipes the spiderwebs away gently and quiets her.  
Still in the hallway, watching the search are the Lannister men. Some of them touch their swords, but Lannister men do the calculations quickly. They want to present two bodies to their Lord but they are not willing to hurt Tywin’s eldest boy. There is an uneasy truce. The men of the North and Jamie Lannister form a circle around Ned Stark, who holds the three year old on his hip, like he was her nurse and not a man who has taken her throne from her. 

He thinks of the baby that Catelyn is about to give birth to and wonders if it will be a girl. He knows he will need to have sons but he would not mind having a daughter. He thinks heavily and often about the three Kingsguard who were not at the Trident. What would keep them with his sister and not here with Rhaegar’s children? Rhaegar’s children should be protected. They are just children. 

“You are a clever girl, princess. A clever mouse.” He smiles at her and he knows that she is afraid. She is solemn and quiet and keeps looking back at Jamie. Ned smiles, she trusts him because of Jamie’s white cloak. Jamie is the familiar thing to her. The irony of that is not lost on him.

When they make it to the throne room, Robert has arrived. Wounded and blustering, he sits on the Iron Throne, wearing his golden crown with stag tines. They have wrapped Elia, and Aegon in Red Lannister cloaks to hide the blood. Aerys is wrapped in black.

Ned is nervous, as our his men. He can sense the tension and he can see Robert has been told by Tywin Lannister of his gifts’ and how Eddard Stark’s honor is too stiff. Ned knows in his heart he will not give the girl up. Jamie whispers to Ned, either mocking or afraid, “What now, Lord Stark?” 

“Ned what have you done?” Robert voice booms down across the throne room.  
“I have saved a child from butchery. A noble child, your grace. A cousin of the King.” Ned was cautious with his words, and is smart enough to refer to her as a cousin to the King, not an heir to the throne.

Jon Arryn is near the King. He looks troubled that Ned would test Robert in this way with the new King’s blood still up from the battle and his throne so fresh. 

Ned nods to his men. They all kneel. He gently puts the girl down on her the ground. He kneels and she kneels as well. She knows enough to kneel in front of the Iron Throne, to fear the moods of a King.

“Your grace, I have fought and the North has bled for you. We have been like brothers together since we were sent to the Vale. I ask for mercy my King. For this girl.”

“Lyanna was shown no mercy.”

“All the more reason to show how gracious a ruler you could be.” 

At this point, Jon Arryn leans in to whisper to the King. Jamie clenches and unclenches his fist and the hall looks on. 

Patience Ned thinks. He does not want more blood shed. He wants to find Lyanna in Dorne and go home. He cannot stop thinking why three of the Kingsguard are still with Lyanna and not here and he holds Rhaenys hand. He cannot fight his way out of this, even with his men, but he will not be able to turn her over. 

Later, Ned leaves King’s Landing with his men and his clever little mouse. She rides on his horse with him. Robert has given the Warden of the North a ward. He has made him promise to keep her guarded until they get to Winterfell. She cannot ever go to Dorne. She cannot ever inherit the throne. Maybe if Robert has a son, he will wed them and all will be content. The Kingdom will be at peace. Winterfell is far away and they have a long distance to travel.

Ned wanted to go directly to find Lyanna, but he cannot bring his little mouse and he fears to leave her with anyone. She is too small, too precious, too vulnerable. She will ride with him and sleep in his tent. Lyanna is safe, wherever she is, guarded by three of the most dangerous men of the Seven Kingdoms. 

He has sent a raven to Winterfell and his brother Benjen to meet him at Moat Cailin and take the child the rest of the way and one to Catelyn about their new ward. He doesn’t really know Catelyn and hopes she is a kind woman. Ned almost regrets accepting the little mouse but she could not stay in King’s Landing. The King will have to send other troops to break the siege of Storm’s End. He feeds her small peices of cheese. The road is long ahead, but they must travel quickly because he needs to find Lyanna before the King does. He is pretty sure he knows why the Kingsguard are with her and he does not want another child to be wrapped in Lannister red.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really liked this chapter too. I think it will be interesting to see what impact this would have on this alternate reality. Ned might not make it in time to see Lyanna die, or promise her to take care of Jon. What would Arthur Dayne, Gerold Hightower, and Oswell Whent do? Would they stay at the tower? Go to Dorne? Go to the Reach- where Hightower is from? Go to Essos? Or would they take Jon to Ned and stay to protect him? How would that impact the future???? Interesting ideas....


	5. Chapter 5

It is cold and dark in these rooms below the Red Keep. Above him, the victory celebration is going on. He can hear it all the way down here. Thoros thinks of the party with all the wine and women and licks his lips. Soon, he will be back with them but first, he must pray. 

He is glad the celebration is going on above him because there is no one down here to bother him or ask him questions. Even if he was questioned, Thoros of Myr could not tell why he is here among the rows of dead in this hastily created morgue. It seems as if he was compelled to come here to stand among all the victims of Robert’s Rebellion. There are bodies of soldiers, peasants, ladies, unfortunate enough to be in the Red Keep earlier today. Tomorrow at dawn, the Silent Sisters will come to prepare the dead, but tonight they are left alone with their silence. 

He has come here looking and he searches the darkness with only his torch to find what he seeks. It does not take long. Two small red bundles on a table. He was in the Throne Room when Tywin came with these two bundles, wrapped in Lannister red to hide the blood. Tywin Lannister laid them at the feet of Robert to see his devotion to the crown, his loyalty. Inside the wrappings lie the bodies of Aegon and Rhaenys Targaryen. 

 

Thoros felt his heart ache to see the little bodies and the injury and fear they must have suffered.  
He has come here because he knows that he should send a prayer for them and give them the last rites. They are the children of the dragons and he hopes to help them find safe passage to the Lord of Light. 

Looking at their bodies, Thoros of Myr knows how badly he has failed at his mission has been to convert King Aerys to the Lord of Light. There were too many distractions at court, distractions like wine and women. Perhaps, if he had stayed faithful and true, he might have made a true convert of King Aerys and he wouldn’t be here in his grief over these murdered children.

 

He unwraps Rhaenys first and sees the stab wounds. Her small body is only about three feet tall and she must have at least twenty wounds in her legs, her chest, and her stomach. All he hears in his head is Fire and Blood, the words of her house, repeating endlessly to the drum of his heartbeat.  
Thoros feels shame when he bows his head and begins to pray. He falters at first, unsure if he will remember how to pray or if he even is worthy. Faith isn’t about whether you are worthy; none of us are. He continues praying to the Lord of Light and finds it is easier as he goes. He remembers the words, the faith, the light. It becomes meditative and peaceful for him to go through the rites of the last kiss. It is a simple heartfelt prayer and he feels the fire of R’llor fill him. His finger tips burn and his heart is beating loudly to the beat of Fire and Blood in his head. 

He leans over to give her the last kiss. It is part of the last rites and he has done it before to men on the battlefield. As he kisses her lips, he feels lessened and the heat leaves him suddenly. He pulls back feeling weaker and shivers from the cold that has surrounded him so quickly. He is sitting on the floor, rubbing his head when he sees the Princess move. 

She sits up and looks at him, seeing him with her black eyes, really seeing him. She is wheezing slightly but he wonders if that is just the air escaping from so many holes. 

“Princess,” he says, uncertain of what is happening. It is truly a miracle of the Lord of Light. 

Thoros has heard of such things done but has never witnessed such a miracle. He has never seen one come back from the dead. 

Her skin is pale, bloodless. She smiles, but the smile is terrifying, more of a grimace. 

He stands to wrap her with his cloak. It is so cold down here among the dead, She wants to speak but she struggles to remember how to use her voice  
"Your grace, you have been through much. What might I do for you? What do you need?”

She answers only this.. “Fire and Blood..”

He knows this is only the beginning of her fury of blood and fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had the last chapter written about Varys smuggling Rhaenys out.. when I ran across Thoros of Myr. I had forgotten that he was in the Throne Room when Tywin Lannister brought the children's bodies out. It got me thinking... This also would be a great story of a different sort...


End file.
